The present invention relates in general to tablet dispensers, and more particularly relates to a hand-held type of tablet dispenser adapted to be partially inserted into the mouth of a user for immediate and direct deposit of a tablet in the mouth.
There are many instances where a person is required, because of an illness, to carry medicinal tablets to be taken at prescribed times or upon an indication of a need. Exemplary of this situation is a person afflicated with angina pectoris. In this instance, an emergency precipitated by deficient oxygenation of the heart muscles requires an immediate dosage of nitroglycerin which is usually administered personally in a sublingual manner. Since time is of the essence a person must, as of necessity, carry tablets all the time and administer them immediately upon the need thereof. In such emergency situations, a lapse of several minutes without administration of a tablet could be fatal.
It is a conventional practice with persons who must carry drugs in tablet form to keep on their persons such tablets in the original containers or smaller more convenient vials. One drawback with this practice is that such containers are bulky and are not easily carried in one's pockets. Another drawback which can result in dire consequences is that the person must first remove the cap of the container, remove the cotton stuffing and then single out one small pill for oral ingestion. All this may not be easily done especially if the malady sought to be dealt with renders the hands or fingers of a person trembling or shaking and, worse yet, if the container has a lock-proof cap. The foregoing problems are compounded when emergency situations require the user to dispense a tablet in the darkness or while driving. Other obvious problems emerge when a user with poor eyesight must single out one small tablet, and then pick it up and take it.
Other than the situations which involve an emergency as above described, there is also a need for a hand-held tablet dispenser which is convenient, inexpensive, lightweight and pencil-size such that it can be kept in a shirt pocket or purse.
It is a general aim of the present invention to provide a tablet dispenser which is easily carried in one's shirt pocket much as a pen, and which can be pre-loaded with tablets at the user's convenience, and later, with one hand dispense the exact number of tablets directly into the mouth. In this way, the user does not have to separate one pill from the container of pills, nor does one have to pick the pill up with fingers for administering it sublingualy.
The present invention also includes features which permit a tablet to be dispensed without having to visually orient the dispenser so that the tablet can be transferred quickly to the mouth. Moreover, the tablet dispenser of the present invention is constructed such that single tablets are dispensed in seriatim and thus a person can take the exact number of tablets desired by successively dispensing a single tablet a prescribed number of times.
Other advantages and features of the invention will become apparent by referring to the detailed description of the invention which follows below.